Your chances:
You have completed your vocational training abroad and would like to work and live in Germany? Find out which requirements you must meet.
Citizens of Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the USA do not require an entry visa to enter Germany. Once you are in Germany, you have 90 days to apply for a residence permit for qualified employment. You may only take up employment if you have a corresponding residence permit.
Prerequisites are a binding job offer that matches your professional qualification and the recognition of your foreign professional qualification. You may want to inform yourself about the process and possibilities before applying for your visa or even before entering Germany. Find out more about this in the Recogniton section.
Your foreign vocational qualification has not yet been recognised?
In such case you must first have your qualification recognised by the competent authority in Germany. To do so, you may enter Germany without a visa for three months and apply for recognition there. After the recognition you can then apply for the corresponding residence permit. Only then are you able to take up employment in Germany.
Your foreign vocational qualification has already been recognised as equivalent?
In such case you may enter Germany for 90 days without a visa and look for suitable employment. However, if your job search was successful, you must apply for a residence permit for this purpose before taking up employment.
Another possibility is to enter the country with a visa for jobseekers. You can apply for it at the responsible German embassy in your country. It will allow you to enter the country for six months to look for suitable employment.
The following information might help you with your visa application:
Tip: Start your job search now and find a suitable job offer on the "Make it in Germany" job listings.
